Deadlines
I was wailing about my need to complete the first draft of Book #2 by December 31st when the very handsome boyfriend interrupted to say "But that's YOUR deadline, right?"
Yes, I explained. My deadline. All my writing deadlines are my deadlines because I have not become so famous as to have editors saying, "When's the next book coming out and how many bags of money can we give you for it?"
I got his point, which was: the deadline is not carved upon stone. My point is: only because I don't have a chisel.
Deadlines are goals. Some go unmet. But without one I would have less to motivate me to get on with it. And towards the end, when you can see the goal and you're running toward it, it feels rather good. Sort of like an actual race, only without the muscle cramps and shortness of breath that follows.